The first assessment task is the speaking task which will take place in Week 7. Then you will write an essay in Week 10.

SPEAKING TASK
Students will give a presentation on their related text for the Area of Study. Students should show, through a close analysis of their related text, how that text exemplifies the Area of Study concept and links to their set text.

The specific question for this task will be distributed two weeks prior to the task.

The related text being presented:
a) must not be one that has been studied in class this year.

Your presentation should be an engaging live event rather than a simple reading of a written script.

Your presentation must not exceed 3and a half minutes.


ESSAY TASK
Task: In Class

Time: 50 minutes (10 minutes planning + 40 minutes writing)

Notes:
*students are allowed to refer to notes (max. 1 page typed OR handwritten) during planning and writing sections of the task.
*are to be in the form of a VISUAL ORGANISER (eg mind maps, graphic organisers, structured overviews, Venn diagrams, table)
*no sentences (other than quotations)
*no paragraphs
*max. number of words is 250.
The specific question is not seen until the day of the assessment.

In your response you should refer to your set text and at least ONE related text of your own choosing.(Nb. Students studying poetry as the set text should refer to TWO poems.)

Your response should address:
* your understanding of the concept of Belonging
* a perception of Belonging as depicted in both texts and the ways this contribute to our understanding of ourselves and our world
* the connections between your texts
* a variety of techniques used to represent EACH composer’s perceptions of Belonging, explaining how changes of form and language affect meaning.



The Board of Studies tells teachers what they need to teach in their 'Prescriptions' Document. I have printed it here:

AREA OF STUDY: Belonging

This Area of Study requires students to explore the ways in which the concept of belonging is represented in and through texts.

Perceptions and ideas of belonging, or of not belonging, vary.These perceptions are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts. A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. Within this Area of Study, students may consider aspects of belonging in terms of experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding.

Texts explore many aspects of belonging, including the potential of the individual to enrich or challenge a community or group. They may reflect the way attitudes to belonging are modified over time. Texts may also represent choices not to belong, or barriers which prevent belonging.

Perceptions and ideas of belonging in texts can be constructed through a variety of language modes, forms, features and structures. In engaging with the text, a responder may experience and understand the possibilities presented by a sense of belonging to, or exclusion from the text and the world it represents. This engagement may be influenced by the different ways perspectives are given voice in or are absent from a text.

In their responses and compositions students examine, question, and reflect and speculateon:
  • how the concept of belonging is conveyed through the representations of people, relationships, ideas, places, events, and societies that they encounter in the prescribed text and texts of their own choosing related to the Area of Study
  • assumptions underlying various representations of the concept of belonging
  • how the composer’s choice of language modes, forms, features and structures shapes and is shaped by a sense of belonging
  • their own experiences of belonging, in a variety of contexts
  • the ways in which they perceive the world through texts
  • the ways in which exploring the concept and significance of belonging may broaden and deepen their understanding of themselves and their world.


Have a look at these ideas for related texts:
Tim Minchin has some great lyrics - look at the song 'You Grew on Me'. The extended metaphor is fantastic!



or the following one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0s68-GLGWY

I like this one too. 'If I didn't have you...'



Look at this really great video on belonging